Flames News

Gaudreau scores twice in setback to Stars

Flames surrender third period powerplay goal for third straight loss

CALGARY, AB -- Jamie Benn broke a 2-2 tie with his second strike of the game, 7:20 into the third period to help lift the Dallas Stars to a 4-2 triumph over the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.

Calgary had an opportunity to even the game late in the third period when Dallas was whistled for too-many-men, but couldn't capitalize with the man-advatnage.

"Yeah, it's difficult. We get the powerplay there with two or three minutes left," said Gaudreau. "We worked on it the past couple of days here, how important special teams was and we gave up one on the penalty kill and didn't score any on the powerplay.

"I guess we've got to keep working on that and keep getting better at that becuase it helps win games"

It was the Flames third straight loss while the Stars got back into the win column after three straight losses themselves.

"We are finding ways to lose, there are certain things we are doing well but we are finding ways to lose," Gulutzan, frustrated during his post-game media address said. "We need somebody now to step up and find a way to win and stop playing the victim.

"That is really what we need … We just need someone to step up and find ways to win games."

Lauri Korpikoski, who had a brief stint with Calgary in the pre-season on a PTO, and Antoine Roussel also scored for Dallas and Kari Lehtonin turned aside 29 shots for Dallas.

Gaudreau scored two goals for the Flames, the 13th two-goal performance of his career and Brett Kulak had a pair of assists.

Korpikoski gave the Stars the lead at 12:31 after Sam Bennett and Dougie Hamilton got tangled up behind the Flames net and the puck squirted lookse to Korpikoski, who made no mistake with a laser wrister to the top corner.

Benn helped Dallas double their lead at the 15:35 mark of the first when a harmless looking Stars two-on-two turned into Benn trailing late and picking up a pass from John Klingberg. Benn danced through the slot and beat Elliott.

"We have to continue to play the way we are five-on-five," Flames captain Mark Giordano said. "We gave them those two goals tonight, that we have to clean up.

"Other than that I thought we carried the five-on-five play in the offensive zone, we had some good looks.

"But again, it's not good enough in this league, it's such a tight league. You let them off the hook for one special teams goal and it's the difference in the game again tonight."

Things got heated at the start of the second period when Micheal Ferland drilled Tyler Segiun with a hard check behind the Dallas goal. Antoinne Roussel took exception and dropped the gloves with Ferland for a spirited tilt.

Gaudreau broke the goose egg for Calgary 1:33 into the middle frame when he was perched in the Dallas crease and tapped in a gift, the result of a point blast from Kulak that ended up sitting on the goal line behind Lehtonin.

Calgary tied the game 1:58 later, Gaudreau again, this time redirecting a point shot from Kulak past Lehtonin. It was Gaudreau's fourth of the season and Kulak's third point of his seven-game NHL season.

"It was nice to find the net there finally," said Gaudreau, who snapped a six game goal drought. "I think me Mony and Chais, we played a good sixty-minutes tonight. We were in their zone most of the night and when we were in our zone I think we did pretty well breaking out and making those plays."

Benn's game-winner came on a Stars powerplay. With Alex Chaisson serving a minor penalty for high-sticking, Benn finished off a tic-tac-toe play that went from Roussel to Seguin to Benn, who deposted the puck into a wide open goal.

Roussel put the final nail in the coffin into an empty net with 54 seconds left and the Flames goaltender on the bench for an extra attacker.

"The first two kills were very good and then we made three mistakes," Gulutzan said. If you make two mistakes, the puck will probably end up in your net, if you make three mistakes it will end up in your net."